Carriage-top



(No Model.)

G. G. PARKER.

UARRIAGE TOP.

No. 269,700. f Patented Dec. 26, 1882.

u. PETERS. Photo-Lithographer, Washington. a. c

UNrrEio STATES ATENT FFICE.

CHARLES G. PARKER, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

CARRIAGE-TO P.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 269,700, dated December 26, 1882.

Application filed October 14, 1882. ("No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES G. PARKER, of New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improvement in Carriage-Tops; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same,

and which said drawings constitute part of extreme to be covered, and then when contracted a portion of that top has been necessarily folded inward and makes a clumsy arrangement, so much so that it is very little used.

The object of my invention is to make atop which, whether contracted for one seat or expanded for two seats, will present as neat and finished an appearance as does the top of a single-seated carriage or a full top for a twoseated carriage; and the invention consists in a top constructed with two independent sets of hows, the cover divided, one set of bows attached to one seat, and the second set arranged to be attached to the first set and bring the two parts of the cover together to form a single top, or the first'detached from the second and hung to the second seat, correspondingly separating the two parts of the top, the space between the two parts of ithe top being provided with a removable covering, as more fully two-seated buggy, as seen in Fig. 2. To the rear seat one set of bows (here represented as consisting of two, a b) are hung toaseat-iron, d, in the usual manner of hinging carriagebows, the front how, a, standing perpendicular. 'Ihejointed brace 6 extends from the prop f at the rear up to a prop near the forward bow, as at It, so as to support this part of the top, over the seat. The second part of the top, as here represented, also consists of two bows,t' and l. These two are arranged in a slat-iron, m, and so as to be attached to the other bows, a b, as at n, and in the usual manner of attaching the front part of a contractible carriage-top.

The rear how, i, of this second part is also perpendicular, and when set together, as seen in Fig. 1, the two bows t a stand close together and as one how. Between the how 2' and the front bow, l, a jointed brace, 1', serves to hold this second part of the top extended. The cover of the two parts meet, as at s, and close the top. At that point an overlapping flap is provided to cover the joint, as indicated in broken lines. Between the two parts or sets of bows, at the top, a jointed brace, 25, is at tached-one part to the prop hon the rear part and the other to the prop u on the front part the two parts of the brace folded together,with thejointmdown. When the rearseatisthrown backward the top may be retained in this same condition, and only serve as a cover for that rear seat; but when it is desirable to extend the top so as to cover the front seat the front part or bows, t l, are detached from the rear part and connected to a seat-iron, w, on the front seat. In that case the bows i a stand perpendicular, as before. Thejoint t is extended so as to support the two parts of the top, in that condition the brace t corresponding to the distance the front part is moved forward from the rear part, and thenover the top,'between the front and rear parts, a covering-piece, A, is placed, overlapping both the front and rear, so as to cover and protect the joint, and thus complete the top. This part A may be entirely detachable and carried in the box of the carriage, as the side curtains usually are, or otherwise arranged to permit the bringing of the two parts together or of their separating for a double top.

As before stated, this top is applicable to perpendicular, with a jointed brace between jointed connection between them at the top,

anytwoseated carriage or to anyjump-seat carriage, the essential feature of the invention being the separation of the top in two parts, the rear part having a bow arranged at the front, and the front part a bow arranged at the rear edge, so tllatthe said two bows \Vlll stand perpendicular to each other, with a and detachable the one part from the other at thejoint.

When standing as a single top, as seen in Fig. 1, the top may be thrown back in the usual manner, if required.

I claim- 1. A carriage-top constructed in two independentand separable parts and sets of hows, the one set hung to the seat-iron of one seat, the second set arranged to be hung, to the first set or detached therefrom and hung to the seat-iron of the other seat, the front bow of the rear part and the rear bow of the front part i the said two parts, which permits the bringing of the said two parts together when the top is contracted to serve as a top for a single seat and to hold them extended when separated for a two-seated top, and a cover for the space between the two tops, substantially as de' scribed.

2. A carriage-top constructed in two independentand separable parts and sets of bows, the one set hung to the seat-iron of one seat, the second set arranged to be hung to the first set or detached therefrom and hung to the seat-iron of the other seat, the front bow of 5 the rear part and the rear bow of the front part perpendicular, with a jointed brace between the said two parts, which permits the bringing ot' the said two parts together when the top is contracted to serve as a top for a single seat, thejoiut over the top between the two parts provided with an overlapping flap to protect thejoint, substantially as-dcscribed.

CHAS. G. PARKER.

Witnesses:

Jos. O. EARLE, J. H. SI-IUMWAY. 

